Early Humans Study Guide
Define the following words:
1. Neolithic Age/Era
2. domestication
3. artifact
4. vegetation
5. Paleolithic Age/Era
6. Archaeology
7. diffusion (cultural)
8. social hierarchy
9. prehistoric
10. nomad
11. agriculture
12. hunter-gatherers
13. culture
14. Fossil
15. How did Paleolithic people get their food compared to Neolithic people?
16. What change started the Neolithic Age?
17. What benefits did people have from farming and domesticating animals?
18. Why did Neolithic people live together in larger groups compared to
Paleolithic people?
19. What does “having a stable food supply” mean?
20. What factors were most important for early humans to survive?
21. What would archaeologists look for if they were studying early human
culture?
22. Why do archaeologists study fossils?
23. Why would hunters-gatherers have to migrate?
24. What activities was a regular part of the lives of early hunter-gatherers?
25. What type of art did early humans make first?
26. What were Neolithic people able to do with their food that Paleolithic
people could not do?
27. Why were Paleolithic people nomadic?
28. Why were settlements difficult to spread in early civilizations?
29. What were the main causes for the first interactions between ancient
civilizations?
30. Why did early humans live near large river valleys?
31. What are the basic characteristics of a civilization?